July 23, 2022 - A Summer Scene across the Balkans and Black Sea
Balkan States, Black Sea
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Summer sunshine highlighted the myriad colors of the Black Sea and
surrounding landscape on July 22, 2022. The Moderate Resolution Imaging
Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on board NASA’s Terra satellite to acquired a
beautiful true-color image of the scene on that same day.
The Black Sea, filling about one-third of the eastern side of the
image, is decorated with swirls of greens and blues. These fanciful
colors mark the location of a summer-time bloom of phytoplankton.
Phytoplankton are the “primary producers” of the seas and oceans. These
plant-like, microscopic algae, bacteria, and protists use chlorophyll
to make food from sunlight and dissolved nutrients. More than 150
different types of phytoplankton have been observed in the Black Sea,
supporting a rich bounty of fish and other marine life.
Six countries surround the Black Sea. From the north and moving counter
clockwise, the countries seen in this image include Ukraine, Romania,
Bulgaria, and Turkey. The Crimean Peninsula juts southward along the
northern coast of the Black Sea and is partially covered with cloud.
Crimea was transferred by the USSR to Ukraine in 1954 and was invaded
by Russia in 2014. The CIA World Factbook lists Crimea as part of
Ukraine, but notes “ 7.1% of Ukraine's area, is Russian occupied; the
seized area includes all of Crimea and about one-third of both Luhans'k
and Donets'k oblasts.”
The green forests of the Carpathian Mountains, which sweep through
Romania are the most notable landmark west of the Black Sea. More than
half of the Carpathian Mountains belong to Romania. The portion of the
Danube River south of the Carpathians forms the border between Romania
and Bulgaria as it flows into the Black Sea. In the south, the white
circle is Lake Tuz, located on the Central Anatolia plateau about 90
miles (150 km) south-southeast of Ankara, Turkey. Lake Tuz was once the
second-largest lake in Turkey but has become more of a large
mineral-encrusted puddle than a lake in recent years. During some
summers, it completely dries up.
Image Facts
Satellite: Terra
Date Acquired: 7/22/2022
Resolutions: 1km (3.2 MB), 500m (8.8 MB), 250m (6.5 MB)
Bands Used: 1,4,3
Image Credit: MODIS Land Rapid Response Team, NASA GSFC
https://modis.gsfc.nasa.gov/gallery/individual.php?db_date=2022-07-23
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